Total completes Brazilian field acquisitions

Total said it has completed the transfer of rights in Brazil’s Lapa and Lara concessions from Petrobas for almost US$2 billion.

The French oil and gas major obtained a 35 per cent interest as well as the operatorship of the Lapa field in Block BM-S-9A in the Santos Basin pre-salt, alongside Shell (30 per cent), Repsol-Sinopec (25 per cent) and Petrobras (10 per cent).The Lapa field was put in production in December 2016, via the 100,000 barrel per day capacity Cidade de Caraguatatuba FPSO, Total said in a statement.

It also received a 22.5 per cent of the rights in the lara area, which includes the Sururu, Berbigão and Oeste de Atapu fields in Block BM-S-11A in the Santos Basin pre-salt, operated by Petrobras (42.5 per cent) alongside Shell (25 per cent) and Petrogal (10 per cent).

Production in Iara is expected to start in 2018 through the 150,000 barrel per day capacity P-68 FPSO in Berbigão-Sururu fields, which will be followed by a second FPSO in 2019 in the Atapu field.

The transaction amount did not include $400 million that can be triggered by Petrobras to carry a part of its investment share in the Iara development fields and contingent payments.

“Total is developing a major position in Brazil, in one of the most prolific basins worldwide, by taking advantage of our deep offshore expertise, which is one of our main strengths. We are especially pleased to be the first major to operate a pre-salt producing field in Brazil,” said Patrick Pouyanné, chairman and CEO of Total.

The companies received all required approvals, specifically the operation and installation licenses by the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources in order for Total to become the operator of the Lapa field.

The transaction comes under the Strategic Alliance signed in March 2017 between Petrobras and Total, allowing them to combine their deep-offshore expertise.“These transactions represent a major step in our Strategic Alliance. As Petrobras is a leader in the pre-salt exploration and Total is a leader in deep offshore West Africa, our partnership has potential to reduce our exploratory risks and make both companies more competitive. Working in partnership is strategic for Petrobras. We believe it creates value and we willcontinue to further our cooperation on all segments of the oil and gas value chain,” said PedroParente, CEO of Petrobras.